Picture the scene: You’re late for a meeting and don’t have time to park your car. No problem. Whip out your smartphone, open the Audi Connect app and your A7 drives itself into the garage and into the first available space.
The system builds on the autonomous vehicle technology Audi has been developing for the better part of a decade. But this application of its “piloted driving” project is different.
To begin with, the autonomous vehicle tech relies on a spate of laser scanners scattered around the entrance to the building and positioned within the garage. All that hardware is linked to the car’s embedded Wi-Fi connection and a wireless network that must be built into the structure. That means that any old garage won’t do — there needs to be a big investment in infrastructure for this to work, and Audi reps told us they envision a sort of on-site central command station that keeps tabs on the self-parking vehicles entering and exiting the garage. Add in the fact that our demo was under extremely controlled circumstances, with no pedestrians, other vehicles or poor weather to contend with and the challenges facing this technology mount exponentially.
Still, Audi is quick to note that the technology is here, it requires few modifications to the vehicle and it could launch within a decade. That’s assuming the infrastructure gets built out, partners come on board and the lawyers can flesh out the liability issues. Don’t hold your breath. Still, it’s freaking amazing.
